Do you go in RAW 100%?

[Scott Christian]

Most of the games we've played for the first time were RAW, or at least, as best we could with our knowledge of the ruleset. Our Daggerheart campaign right now is a great example of that. I find the idea crazy that someone who has never played before already thinking they understand a ruleset better a bit elitist. I get changes for thematic purposes, but to say you don't think it'll work before seeing it in a variety of scenarios seems overreaching.

 

[RealAlHazred]

We always only play games exactly RAW. If you don't do that, you're basically not playing the game! Our group did this with AD&D 1st edition, but then we had trouble at conventions finding anyone who was actually playing/running AD&D 1st edition -- they all had "house rules" and were therefore playing something else! We went there to play AD&D 1st edition! What the heck!

Eventually, we just resigned ourselves to not finding anybody else playing the games right. So, we moved to Cyborg Commando, and have been playing a campaign of that for almost 40 years.

 

[payn]

We always only play games exactly RAW. If you don't do that, you're basically not playing the game! Our group did this with AD&D 1st edition, but then we had trouble at conventions finding anyone who was actually playing/running AD&D 1st edition -- they all had "house rules" and were therefore playing something else! We went there to play AD&D 1st edition! What the heck!

Eventually, we just resigned ourselves to not finding anybody else playing the games right. So, we moved to Cyborg Commando, and have been playing a campaign of that for almost 40 years.

If playing something else is wrong, I don’t want to be right!

 

[Spectral Anomaly]

I tend to dump with an exception error once the rules tell me that I'm free to include or alter the rules how I want and to make the game my own.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Absolutely. I like to show them how it's done old school. I don't even ask I just go RAW and worry of they liked it later.

 

[Li Shenron]

You can't even always tell for sure if something written in a core book is strictly a rule or merely a suggestion...

 

[MrGrenadine]

Never 100% RAW, in 40+ years of DMing D&D.

That flexibility is why it’s still my favorite game.

 

[nevin]

So I am curious.
Who here would claim that they play ANY TTRPG 100% rules as written with no alterations or omissions? House ruling things not covered by published rules would be allowed but if there is a rule for it, you have to use that rule 100% unaltered for a situation it applies to. 40+ yrs in the hobby and I know I never have. I suspect it can only really be possible for games that have properly minimalist rulesets. But let's say any edition or incarnation of Dungeons and Dragons. Have you every played it 100% straight up RAW with no alterations or ommisions?

Nope

 

[Umbran]

It isn't like I have an auditor check my work, or anything. I do not find purity of sufficient value to concern myself about it.